Lilypie

Saturday, February 28, 2009

What's with the random belly touching?

Seriously? I can't say I've ever done this to any pregnant woman I've ever been in contact with. I'm not opposed to it from people I know and love like close friends and family, but others? It kinda creeps me out. I am barely showing, but that hasn't appeared to stop people. I got 3 random rubs on Thursday alone!

Anyway, I'm truly happy I have a belly and thrilled that everything is going so well with the pregnancy so far. Just wanted to clear my chest on this one.

Gotta love infertility: Since I've been pregnant, not a week (seems more like not even a day) has passed that someone hasn't asked the question: "Do twins run in your family?" I'm amused by it for the most part because I can answer in so many different ways: "Yes they do, my grandmother had fraternal twins" if I'm busy or don't really feel like the full story when this is actually the truth...."Yes they do, but we underwent fertility treatments to conceive our twins" perhaps the whole truth vs. half truth from my first quote...."I think what you're asking is did we do fertility treatments? The answer is yes" for my days when I'm in a bad mood and really don't want to answer a nosey question to begin with.

Oh, and one last one--"Are your twins natural?" I mostly answer they were conceived via IVF, since this question does appear to be more direct vs. the twins in the family above question. However, on a bad day, I've answered anything from "Yes, they are human beings" to "Actually they are supernatural and possess supernatural skills like reading people's minds and communicating back the information to their mother, even in utero" to "No, they are unnatural; we aren't even sure what species they are."

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

15 Weeks



I'm getting there! 15 and a half weeks today. Things are still going pretty well. Haven't had much RL pain this week, so enjoying a brief lapse in my uterus expansion capabilities. And aren't oranges just so sweet and delicious? That's just how I picture my boys. :-)

We did get started last weekend on the baby registry and making some decisions on nursery decor. It is fun! And, we have a whole slew of home improvement projects around the house that we'll be getting started on over the next few weeks. The hope is to get everything completed by June. Also, starting to think about my baby shower. Yippee! Can't wait!!

Regarding the babies this week, "Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements."

Friday, February 20, 2009

My BOYS!








I'm finally able to declare that we are 100% having boys! We were only 90% sure before with the reliability of the genetic testing, but this week's ultrasound showed both were clearly boys. My pics aren't perfectly clear, but the arrows point to the important part. ;-)

Both are doing well, weighing in at 4 ounces each! According to their gestational age, they should weigh between 2.1-3.2 ounces, so needless to say we are thrilled with their growth so far. Both had perfect heartbeats and were bouncing all over the screen (as usual). I'm still not ready to declare them "too rowdy" at this point. They seem to be having a lot of fun. (lol)

I'm doing well, but did get to check off my first "unscheduled" visit to the doctor this week. Had some significant pains in upper abdomen/rib cage yesterday, unrelieved with rest and fluids. Went in for an ultrasound to check my cervix to make sure it wasn't shortening and I wasn't having pre-term labor. Thankfully, everything looked good. Was instructed to lie flat for rest of night, drink lots of water, etc. They suspected it was just round ligament pain with some serious stretching going on, so I guess they were probably right. Anyway, I'm feeling better today.

As far as my weekly Nest/Bump update, they are the size of lemons (yummy) this week. "Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth. " They are supposed to measure 3.4 inches, but I bet mine may be a little bigger. :-)

On a funny note, Steve had a dream we had 6 baby boys that all looked like him last night. They were all sitting on some sort of shelf, in a stacked slots. So, glad to know our children were beautiful in his dreams, but 6? Seriously? NO! Anyway, he had to select one to put in a commercial or something. How hysterical!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Looks like we are going to have to get serious about buying some baby gear soon now that we know the sexes for sure...

Sunday, February 15, 2009

My sweet husband...

I'm not really one to celebrate Valentine's Day. Definitely feel that it's a HallMark holiday. Steve knows this, but somehow either threw his knowledge out the window, forgot my feeling on it, or just thought I needed a pick me up. Regardless of his reason, we celebrated V-day yesterday.

First, he sent me 100 multi-colored garden roses on Friday before I left for work. They were beautiful. And his card was just precious-"I Love You, and can't wait for the birth of our beautiful baby boys." Aw...I loved that he made it about the babies and not Valentine's Day...

Then, he brought me home chocolate-covered strawberries (my fave!) after work on Friday. They were divine. I did share a few too. :-)

And finally yesterday, he took me to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and also gave me a sweet V-Day card, a Dove's milk chocolate rose, and a couple of heart-shaped Peeps. He thinks it's funny how I call people "my peeps" or refer to people in general with that term, so that's why I got those.

I feel very lucky to be married to him. And I'm glad (for whatever reason) that he decided to celebrate with me the last couple of days. I think it's been good for both of us.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Peaches and Hello 2nd Trimester!

Yippee! It's here! The part that's supposed to be the most comfortable and enjoyable of the entire pregnancy. But, I really can't complain at all. I loved the first trimester! No sickness, no major issues to deal with. So, I'm really looking forward to this next step of my pregnancy!

According to the Nest/Bump this week: "Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)" Plus, the babies just climbed to 1.4 ounces! Over the 1 oz. mark-yay!

In other boring news, work is still kicking my butt. I've really had it. Travel/drive way too much, too many meetings, etc. Lots of pressure from top management down to hit sales numbers. Yeah-that seems easy in a declining economy where people aren't even visiting their physicians as often as they used to because they're saving money rather than paying higher co-pays and deductibles thanks to insurance rates on the rise and more employers paying less health insurance costs for employees. Why is there never any mention of insurance reform? We have reform for everything else.

And for anyone who thinks that it's the drug manufacturers fault, the fact that nearly no one knows (and the biased media will never share) is that it costs nearly $1 billion to bring a new drug to market after all of the research, development, clinical drug studies, etc. have been performed. Only 1 in 5 products ever reach a billion dollars in their entire patent lifespan of being on the market, so you do the math. It's more often a losing encounter to bring a drug to market than it is to be a $$ successful venture. But, companies still do it, because it's the right thing for the patients-better medicines to help patients live a better life. That's what I do every day-help people live better lives.

But, as an industry, we are under tremendous pressure and scrutiny from the government. It appears most people want government to run health care-the VA is the current model for that. I've worked the VA system. Patients are getting products from 40 years ago (or older), not the new drugs with fewer side effects, better safety profiles, easier to remember dosing schedules, etc. Yet, no one seems to care to have the government take over. If anyone can name me one successful government healthcare program, I would be interested in knowing one. I can't think of any. At all. That is unless you consider Medicare, VA, etc successful (and I definitely don't). Stepping back down off soap box.

Despite my views and beliefs, I'm in a bad place in my job and wish I could do something else. But, I can't. Primary breadwinner, crappy housing market to try to sell home, etc. I feel like I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders every day. I don't have the option to stay at home when the kids arrive, not even for a millisecond. Not saying that I could be a stay at home Mom (don't think I'm wired for that), but it sure would be nice to have some options. I have none. Other than win the lottery. Which of course requires one to actually play the lottery. Maybe I'll buy a powerball ticket on Saturday. I just hate throwing a dollar out on it-seems wasteful.

I realize that I started my post being very upbeat and optimistic. That's truly is how I feel about my babies. The rest is how I feel about everything else in the world. Maybe things will change soon. I hope so.

Monday, February 9, 2009

New Blog Name

I mentioned a while back about changing the name of my blog since there is a message board out there with the name of "Desperately Seeking Spawn." Also, I don't think my current title is as relevant as it was previously. So, I'm in the process of making my decision. I have thought of lots of names, and I thought I'd put up a poll for you guys as well.

I've thought about some of my favorite lines. My choices are:

"Tomorrow Is Another Day" from Gone With The Wind

"I'll Have What She's Having" from When Harry Met Sally

"If You Build It, They Will Come" from Field of Dreams

"You Never Know What You're Gonna Get" from Forrest Gump

"Double The Pleasure, Double The Fun"

"Two Buns In The Oven"

"Double Blessings"

"Two Peas In A Pod"

Also, opinions/ideas are very welcome...

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

NT Scan and the highly requested 1st belly pic...




So, the first is a pic of Twin A hanging out. He was a little uncooperative again today. The u/s tech kept pushing on my belly to make him move. It made it difficult for her to get the NT measurements, but she finally did and he was fine. So, was Twin B (middle pic). Both had NT measurements within normal limits. Also, they both measured 12w6d in growth, so they are doing fine! Yay!

Got to get some additional answers from the one of the perinatologists (Dr. O) today. Their group will only be delivering the twins if I/babies have some complications or deliver prior to 28 weeks (praying to God this doesn't happen). Also, Dr. O said that I should start feeling kicks and movement around 18 weeks due to my having an anterior placenta. Finally, we asked him about Dr. Luke's book and her dietary and weight gain recommendations. He thinks that eating that much food puts mothers at risk for GD, PTL, and a host of other complications. That's all I needed to hear to not feel guilty about being unable to follow her recommendations. Just gonna continue what I'm doing...

As you can see from my belly pic, I'm not exactly having trouble gaining weight. I'm having some difficulty with clothes right now. I'm on the verge of needing maternity clothes, but still being able to wear my regular clothes with assistance of bella bands and elastic waist bands. But, I'd say I've got a limited number of days ahead of me...

Monday, February 2, 2009

Week 12-Plums

New this week: "The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed. " The only difference with the Nest/Bump is the fruit reference point for week 12: plums! And the weight is reported to be about 0.7 ounces. Almost to an ounce!!

I have my NT scan on Wednesday and it's also my first appt. with the perinatologists. Looking forward to meeting their group and seeing my babies again!

I've been reading lots of baby books lately. Trying to prepare and learn all I can, especially about twins. I'm reading Dr. Luke's book-have any of you twin Mommies out there read it yet? It's great to know all of the info, however I'm pretty sure I'll be falling short on the diet recommendations. I can't eat all that food! My goodness-there is no way I can do that with my job. But, they are general goals to follow and strive to achieve, so I'll treat them as such...